


The First Cut

by dianalilwashu



Category: Tattered Weave (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, uhhhh gross gross hair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 19:19:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13083642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dianalilwashu/pseuds/dianalilwashu
Summary: Dollmaker visits the Salon in Hope for a much-needed haircut. Kei recognizes depression when he sees it.





	The First Cut

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MTTapologist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MTTapologist/gifts).



Oh no. Oh _no_. 

It was only thanks to years of practiced professionalism that Kei didn’t let the smile falter off his face when the Thespian timidly entered his Salon, stooping to fit through the doorway. Trailing in the dirt behind him was long, sticky, tangled black hair covered with cobwebs and dust. He brought with him the smell of death and decay, which suited his completely horrific fashion and creepy six-eyed mask. The main eye on the mask was crying, giving the Thespian’s otherwise silky voice an impression of sorrow. 

“Pardon me, is this the Salon? I am… overdue for a haircut.” 

That’s an understatement, Kei thought weakly. “Yes, please, come have a seat! I’m free right now,” Kei insisted, guiding him to the first chair and spinning it toward him for ease. He did a double-take when the Thespian stepped forward and a little Kith skipped out from behind that massive pile of hair, gleefully holding up a magazine from the entryway. 

“Thank you, darling,” he told his Kith sweetly, every word radiating warmth. Kei’s fears lessened somewhat, watching the golem pirouette at the praise. Turning his awful mask back toward Kei, he said politely, “I am the Dollmaker, a Thespian from the Shadow Stage. This is my Kith, Eludance. Darling, say hello.” Eludance gave him a theatric bow. 

“Hello, The Dollmaker and Eludance,” Kei said, amused by the Kith’s seemingly genuine dramatics. “I’m Kei; this is my Salon. I’ve heard about you from some students. It’s, nice to meet you.”

Dollmaker took the seat uncomfortably and Kei had to brace himself before picking up the man’s hair to get it over the seat’s back. He wrinkled his nose and then shook his head to clear it. Oooooh boy, this was going to be a job and a half. Maybe worse than the time his sister had smeared poop into her hair and let it dry. Kei reconsidered. No, not that bad, at least Dollmaker was a willing client.

“You don’t have to keep the article. ‘Dollmaker’ is just fine,” Dollmaker told him as Eludance climbed into his lap. The Kith peered into the mirror with delight, eying the many hair products just a foot away. 

Kei waved a finger in front of Eludance’s face to get his attention. “Hey, no touching, Eludance,” he warned in his big-brother-knows-best voice. “You’ll make a mess.” To Dollmaker, he nodded. “Got it, Dollmaker! Heh. Here in Hope, calling someone a ‘doll’ can be a compliment.”

“Your dolls are very lovely,” Dollmaker agreed eagerly, starting to lean forward and then stopping himself when he remembered his hair was over the chair’s back. “Ah, I mean that, I can see why it would be a complimentary pet name to give someone.”

“I assume you make some yourself?” Kei asked, then held up a pair of scissors. “Before we get too caught up in the small talk, Dollmaker, what kind of cut are you looking for today?” Internally he hoped Dollmaker would answer ‘buzz cut’ and make his job a whole lot easier.

Instead, Dollmaker’s ears wiggled strangely downward and he fidgeted with the loose strings hanging off his Kith. “I’m… not sure? I was told you are the expert in this scene…”

“If you’re comfortable letting me pick, I’ll do my best to make you happy,” Kei promised with an easy grin. “Tell me what you like about hair. Or what you don’t like!”

“I don’t like that Eludance trips on it sometimes,” Dollmaker started slowly. “Or when W- when someone steps on it by accident walking by. The spiders have taken to it but my head is no place for a nest.”

Kei froze in place at that, staring at Dollmaker with the smile paralyzed on his face. “Spiders… nest there…?”

“It’s not good for them, I know,” Dollmaker said quickly, sounding guilty. “Really, if I weren’t so tall, it wouldn’t be as much of a problem; they do try to spin their webs high up in the rafters. Ah, but when the young hatch, there are so many of them and they are so excited to start their weaving, and I don’t notice whilst I’m working, and then I haven’t the heart to destroy their first creations -“

“It’s okay, I get it,” Kei soothed, even though he very much did not. “What do you think about something short, shorter than your shoulders? Is that too much? Here, let me find you a few pictures.” He picked up a magazine with colorful tabs marking the pages and flipped to one of his favorites. 

Dollmaker and Eludance both looked over the page studiously. Eludance tapped on one, then raised his head to see what his Ally thought of it. Though Dollmaker said nothing, Eludance turned back to the pictures and pointed to another and another, twisting his head to look up at Dollmaker each time for a reaction. Kei wondered if his twitchy ears were somehow a giveaway, then squinted at the mask and wondered which parts of it were see-through for Dollmaker. His mind conjured up an image of Dollmaker having some kind of monstrous features - lots of eyes, like his mask? no eyes? tentacles? a void? - and rapidly decided he was better off not thinking about it. 

“Hmm,” Dollmaker mused finally, and Eludance papped his arms against a photo of an undercut to get Kei’s attention. “Darling, I’m not sure, it’s… a major costume change.”

“We could start smaller,” Kei offered patiently. “You might feel uncomfortable - light-headed, even - after losing _that_ much hair. With your living situation, I’d think a buzz cut,” he pointed to the style he meant, “would be easiest for you, and an undercut is a good test to see whether you’d like that, but why don’t we try shoulder-length first? That way you’ll still feel all your hair around your ears and neck, just, less of it than you’re used to.”

Eludance smacked his tiny hands into the picture more emphatically until Dollmaker pulled it away from him. “Darling, stop that, he’s the Stylist, he would know best,” Dollmaker chided softly. 

“I know what’s most common,” Kei corrected. “Everyone’s different, Dollmaker. Only you know what would make you happy. Set aside what your Ally wants and what I want, and think about what you want.”

Dollmaker considered his words with serious weight as Eludance tugged on his own strings in mild frustration. Kei leaned across another workstation to grab one of the toys he kept handy and offered it to the Kith, unsure whether the poor golem would unravel himself if otherwise unoccupied. “I’d like to try the compromise,” Dollmaker answered eventually. “The, shoulder-length style?”

Eludance let the toy clatter to the floor and turned around in Dollmaker’s lap, his hands touching Dollmaker’s chest. Dollmaker kindly took the Kith’s hands in his and added, “If it is too unpleasant to bear, better to learn it at an in-between than after going too far. And if it is not, then we can return another time. Right, darling?”

“Exactly,” Kei replied cheerfully, picking the toy up off the floor and setting it back on the table. 

“I-I was speaking to Eludance,” Dollmaker clarified, sounding embarrassed. 

“Oh. Sorry! It’s hard to tell, with your mask on,” Kei laughed, trying to ease Dollmaker’s nerves. He could tell how anxious he was about this decision, mask or no. “Speaking of which, now that we’ve got a plan, let’s get that off you so we can begin.”

“No!” Dollmaker clutched the edges of his mask defensively, leaning halfway out of the salon chair to escape Kei’s hands, which hadn’t even started reaching for the mask. “I-I’m sorry, no, no, pardon me, I, I couldn’t take off my mask here, in - in public. Ah, I mean, it’s not, that isn’t acceptable behavior, where I come from, it’s - rude.”

“Okay, okay,” Kei reassured, holding up his hands to show they weren’t going to snatch his mask away without permission. “Relax. I didn’t realize. You can just say something if there’s a problem, or some kind of misunderstanding, it’s fine. I won’t do anything you ask me not to, promise.”

Slowly Dollmaker returned to his seat, though he didn’t let go of his mask. “Ahh, that’s, good. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem, really,” Kei chuckled, picking up the heavy-duty scissors for round one. He eyed the hair suspiciously, guessing it would shrink significantly once most of the weight was gone. Starting mid-back, he began to cut without worrying for style - he’d have to thoroughly wash the remains before he could even attempt to cut it evenly. The sound Dollmaker’s hair made as it fell heavily to the ground in a sticky mess made Kei shudder. Sweeping up after Dollmaker left would be its own trial…


End file.
